Editorial: Hits and Misses

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Michael Ainsworth/Staff Photographer

Published: 05 April 2014 06:43 PM

Updated: 05 April 2014 06:43 PM

HITS:

Closing defeat doesn’t diminish SMU’s big steps forward

Sports being a bottom-line business, defeat almost always feels far more thorny than rosy. And so it was for the SMU men’s basketball team in losing to Minnesota, 65-63, in the National Invitation Tournament championship game Thursday night. In context, the disappointment will fade. Mustangs fans stood out at Madison Square Garden, as they did in routinely filling Moody Coliseum. Coach Larry Brown’s program took a giant step forward this season, with a 27-10 finish and some top recruits headed in and promising big things as soon as next season. Against some odds, the future on the Hilltop is bright, and fans should remember this team for paving the way.

The right direction in Museum Tower controversy

It’s just a step — maybe just a baby step — but it’s definitely in the right direction. Good for a subcommittee of the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System board for hiring the development firm Hines to work on solutions to sunlight reflecting off the system’s glass-sided Museum Tower. That light has been infiltrating the next-door Nasher Sculpture Center’s exhibit space and baking its garden area. The pension board has been slow to find ways to prevent its luxury tower from being a nuisance, short of asking the Nasher to change its roof design. The feud has been an embarrassment for the Arts District, so it’s good to get fresh eyes at work.

When in doubt, ask the spouse

Mayor Mike Rawlings had been in a political tailspin after throwing his considerable influence behind the Support Our Public Schools drive to create a home-rule district for Dallas public schools. People were angry, confused and fearful. Community forums got ugly. Then, his wife, Micki, helped him understand the problem. “People don’t get it, and when people don’t get it, they fear it,” she counseled her husband. It was sage advice that Rawlings took to heart. He immediately began reaching out to folks on all sides of the discussion in an attempt to put together a comprehensive idea — if not a plan — of what the Support Our Public Schools drive could birth.

Take a bow, governor

Good for Gov. Rick Perry, for his Governor of the Year award this week from the National Association of Drug Court Professionals — the first time that group has bestowed the award in 25 years. It’s recognition of Perry’s support for specialty drug courts across Texas, from the bill he signed in 2001 to establish them to the bill he signed last year to keep them accountable. There are now more than 150 specialty courts in Texas that focus expertise on preventing reoffending, keeping families together and saving tax dollars. It’s nice to see national recognition for years of smart criminal justice in Texas.

Ray Hutchison leaves a legacy that we see and touch every day

Everyone leaves a legacy, but not everyone’s is remembered. Ray Hutchison’s legacy is so pervasive that it’s entwined in everyday life in North Texas, and that’s quite something. If you fly into or out of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, it’s the airport he helped build. Or if you ride a Dallas Area Rapid Transit train. Or need care at the new Parkland Memorial Hospital. Or have been entertained at AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Park, Texas Motor Speedway or any number of other important structures, past and present. Hutchison was a state legislator, state GOP chair and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s loving husband — all noteworthy accomplishments — but we should remember him first for what he did for a living, which was becoming the top public financing bond attorney in Texas. It may not be the sexiest pursuit, but consider what we might not have without a guy like him to figure out how to pay for it.

Overdue recognition for a Saudi women’s-rights pioneer

Dr. Maha al-Muneef is a woman of extraordinary courage who has defied Saudi Arabia’s conservative conventions and led a campaign for women’s rights, especially regarding treatment for victims of rape and domestic violence. Like teenager Malala Yousafzai in Pakistan, Muneef has defied a culture that tends to wall off women and girls while minimizing their status. It’s too bad President Barack Obama couldn’t find a way to recognize her in a public ceremony during his recent trip to Saudi Arabia, but the private ceremony he held last Saturday provided a much-needed boost for Muneef’s bold leadership.

Booker T. puts big stamp on Juilliard’s next freshman class

Five students from the Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts achieved yet another landmark for a school already renowned for its impact on the national arts scene. The five — dance students My’Kal Stromile, Mason Manning, Alysia Johnson and Madison Hicks, and theater student Alicia Crowder — received acceptance letters from the prestigious Juilliard School in New York, one of the world’s most exclusive arts institutes. Only 24 dance students and 18 theater students were selected from around the country, and no single school had a better showing than Booker T.

MISS:

Fans should have shown some respect

Shannon Stone’s death in 2011 was about as sad an event as you’ll hear of at a ballpark. He had taken his son Cooper to a ballgame. When Ranger Josh Hamilton flipped a ball into the stands for Stone’s son, the father leaned over to catch it but fell over the railing to his death. The Rangers dedicated a statue showing Stone and his son holding hands, walking to a ballgame together. Last week, many Rangers fans used the statue’s base to dispose of their beer cans, bottles and garbage. The photos of the beer-a-mid they built went out across Twitter. It was tasteless to use the tribute as a trash can, and the fans who did so should be ashamed. Ballpark staffers need to ensure that the statue is protected from similar mistreatment in the future.

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